


be reckless, just enough

by problematiquefave



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/F, Fluff, Get Together, Implied/Referenced Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 03:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16547735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/problematiquefave/pseuds/problematiquefave
Summary: Laura is the sort of girl Paige's parents would warn her to stay away from and Paige would listen to them. Which doesn't explain how she ends up at the mall buying make-up with her or anything that comes after that.





	be reckless, just enough

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the square **Laura/Paige** on my [Teen Wolf Femslash Bingo](http://allirica.tumblr.com/post/179821752869/allirica-please-excuse-the-graphic-im). It's my first time writing either of these characters so I hope I did them justice.
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated!

Laura Hale wears black combat boots, distressed jeans, and a leather jacket with pins in it. She grins, lips red as blood, and flashes a row of sharp teeth. Her eyes, rimmed with dark eyeliner, glimmer in the fluorescent lighting. She’s the type of girl that Paige’s parents would’ve warned her away from – or they wouldn’t have had to because, as the sensible girl she was, she would’ve stayed far away from the senior.

And yet… Here she is.

Paige swallows, pressing her books tighter to her chest as she looks back at Laura. Not a word has been said but that’s not the part that makes her nervous. It’s not even the punk-esque attire either – it’s that look her in eyes, the one that makes her look like she’s deciding between playing with or eating her. It doesn’t go away when she speaks yet the words break the tense silence, letting Paige breathe again.

“You’re Derek’s girl, aren’t you?” Laura asks with a jerk of her head. “Payton or…”

“Paige,” she cuts in with a thin-lipped smile. “And I’m not – er, not anymore. We broke up.”

Laura frowns, brows furrowing. “Oh, I thought…” She looks like she’s mulling something over but then her face returns to neutral, perhaps the slightest bit annoyed. “I’m sorry. I remember my first break-up. It was _rough_. I set off the smoke alarm trying to burn her pictures.”

Paige doesn’t miss the pronoun but what does it matter? Her parents would probably disapprove, and she always tries to live up to her parents expectations, but it doesn’t matter. Love is love. And it’s not like… Well, there’s a lot of rumors about the eldest Hale sibling. Lots of talk of mischief and misdemeanors, whispers about things that don’t even make sense. Paige tries to put those out of her head.

“I think I’m handling it well,” she admits. “I was disappointed but, y’know… Boys will be boys.” She laughs, hoping that Laura doesn’t get offended. This is her brother they’re talking about, after all. But the older girl grins and, really, she has _great_ taste in lipstick.

“What uh… What shade is that?” Paige asks. “Your lipstick, I mean. It’s gorgeous.”

Her brows twitch but she answers. “Red Queen,” she says. She tilts her head to the side and that feeling of being sized up returns. Paige resists the urge to fidget but only just. She’s just as relieved as before when the older girl speaks. “I think it’d look nice with your skin tone.”

Paige glances at her shoes. “Yeah, maybe…” She’s always shy when she gets compliments but this time she can feel a warmth in her cheeks. It’s probably because of who’s giving the compliments. Laura isn’t known for her kindness. “But my parents wouldn’t let me. They don’t really like when I wear make-up and they only let me get stuff that’s less obvious. They’re… They’re kind of strict.”

Laura leans in. “Y’know what you do in that case?” she asks. Paige looks up, shaking her head. “You don’t let them see. Or you tell them to fuck themselves,” she adds with twinkling eyes. Paige blanches at the response, earning herself a laugh.

“I couldn’t…”

“Nah, you could,” she says. “I know a rebel heart when I see one.”

No one has ever described Paige as a _rebel_. _Sweet girl, good girl, maybe a little shy,_ they always say. Her parents preen when the people of their church go on and on about how Paige is such a wonderful girl, how they’ve raised her so well. She doesn’t have a rebellious bone in her body but, before she can tell such to Laura, the older girl is striding towards her, interlinking their arms at the elbows.

“C’mon. We’re gonna get you some lipstick and then maybe some lunch if you’re up to it.”

“But—”

Laura gives her no chance to protest. She sweeps Paige through the slowly emptying hallways. It’s the end of the day – thankfully – which means that they won’t be missing any classes but she has a feeling that wouldn’t have mattered if their run-in was earlier. She drags her past Derek’s locker where the boy is standing with a gaggle of his friends. He blinks like an owl at them but Laura doesn’t even look at him. Paige takes inspiration from her and focuses her eyes ahead.

She can only imagine the things people are thinking. _Is that Paige Krasikeva with Laura Hale? Sweet little Paige?_ If anything got back to her parents… Oh God, she can’t imagine what they’d think or say. It scares her to think, even though she know her parents would never hurt her. They’re disappointment would be enough pain. Yet she doesn’t pull back or tell Laura to stop.

Outside, they come to a halt in front of a gleaming black motorcycle. Her eyes go wide at the site of it, cemented to the ground in shock. She shouldn’t be surprised that Laura Hales drives a motorbike but she is.

Without hesitation, Laura swings her leg over the bike and settles on the seat. She glances at Paige, raising an eyebrow at her expression. “You ever ridden on one of these?” she asks. Once more, Paige shakes her head. It elicits a grin for the older girl. “Well here’s your chance. Get on.” She pats the seat, a look of challenge in her eyes.

Sucking in a deep breath, Paige steps forward. Though her fingers tremble, she reaches out to touch the bike and doesn’t flinch. “Shouldn’t we be wearing helmets?” she asks, pausing and glancing at Laura.

“Live a little,” is the lackluster response she gets.

She shouldn’t. She really, _really_ shouldn’t. Still, she does, situating herself on the back of the bike. Laura grabs her arms and pulls them around her. “Make sure to hold on tight,” the older girl says. “Try to follow my movements. If I lean, lean with me. You don’t want to tip the bike. It won’t be pretty.” Which, again, reminds Paige that they really should be wearing helmets but she just nods.

She plasters herself against Laura’s back as the older girl starts the bike. It roars to life, the engine loud enough to drown out the world. She places her chin on Laura’s shoulder, closing her eyes as she counts to ten, trying to ease her actively fraying nerves. It’s a hopeless endeavor once the bike lurches forward and Laura steps on the gas, driving them out of the parking lot like hell itself is on their heels.

Despite being certain they’re about to become a cautionary tale in a bike safety, they somehow manage to make it to the mall in one piece. Paige’s legs feel like jello when Laura helps her off the bike. She stands still, trying to regain her balance. It really doesn’t help when her companion gives her a hard pat on the back but she smiles at Laura nonetheless.

They head inside; Laura takes them straight to Sephora, as if she’s walked this path a hundred times before. She probably has. Even if the older girl has always intimidated her, so much so that she could barely look in her direction, Paige has been stunned every time she’s snuck a glance. On the other hand, she’s only ever gotten make-up from the drug store. This is a whole new world.

Before she can take in the magnitude of the store, Laura is dragging her off towards a section of it. It’s a display full of lipstick tubes that Laura deftly picks through, snatching up a dark red one that Paige recognizes as hers. “Hold out your arm,” she says as she turns back to her, snapping off the top of the tube. When Paige does, she draws a line on her skin with the lipstick. She studies it for a moment before nodding to herself. “It’s perfect.”

Paige smiles.

If she thought she was done with just the one lipstick though, she was dead wrong. Laura starts picking up other things – other lipsticks and other types of make-up – and swatches each on her skin. Paige feels a bit like a human palette but she doesn’t complain, only biting her lip as she sees the supplies piling higher in the hand-basket Laura picks up.

Eventually, she breaks her silence. “I don’t think I can afford all that.”

Laura looks up from her swatch, raising a dark eyebrow at the younger girl. “Who said you were paying for it?” she asks. Then, after noticing the panicked confusion, she adds, “Don’t worry about it. We Hales are _loaded_. I think I can spare a little money on a pretty girl like you.”

Paige’s takeaway from her response is not the knowledge of her family wealth or the generosity of her gesture. It’s the _‘pretty girl’_ comment. It rings in her ears and reminds Paige of what she found out earlier. Laura’s into girls. She knows she’s just reading too deep into things but… It doesn’t bother her if she is, even more than it didn’t bother her earlier.

The shopping trip does eventually come to an end. Paige feels like her eyes are going to pop out of her head when she sees the total on the cash register but Laura whips out her credit card without blinking, sliding it through the machine while making small talk with the cashier. She holds out the bag to Paige, placing a hand on her lower back when she takes it and guiding them out of the store. They don’t head back to the parking lot though; instead, without asking her, Laura takes her to the food court.

“What looks good to you?” she asks as they enter the large area. Paige’s eyes flick from one glowing sign to the next, eventually answering that she wants Subway. She’s afraid that Laura will judge her for such a boring choice but the older girl nods and starts striding towards the counter. Paige rushes to catch up.

Laura is unsurprisingly adventurous with her choice – if a Spicy Italian sandwich can be call adventurous. It’s certainly more exciting than her ham sandwich. But, as before, she doesn’t even mention it. She decides that Laura is a lot nicer than the rumors say as she watches the older girl dig into her sandwich with gusto.

“Tell me about yourself,” Laura starts before biting into a chip. Her expectant look leaves Paige feeling under pressure once more.

“Um…” Paige looks down at her half-eaten sandwich, swallowing nervously. “I really love music. I started playing the violin when I was five but, when I turned nine, I started taking cello lessons. I preferred it. I’m in the school band and I’ve done some pretty big performances outside of school.” She pauses before adding, “If I could, I’d _love_ to go professional one day.”

Admitting she plays the cello to a punk seems like the worst idea yet, when she looks up at her, Laura is wearing a soft smile. “Man, that’s cool,” she says. “I tried learning the guitar when I was twelve and _oh my god_. Let’s just say, I’ve got no ear for music.”

“Do you have any other hobbies then?” Paige asks as Laura takes a bite of her sandwich.

“Yeah,” she says. “I’ve been riding dirt bikes since I was six. I did a couple of competitions when I was younger but my mom didn’t really like it. She doesn’t like the limelight. I also like sewing and stuff. I alter a lot of my clothes – tear up my jeans and sew on patches and stuff. It’s a part of the style.”

“It’s cool,” Paige says. “Your style, that is. And the bike stuff.”

Laura nods. “I like it. I know some people make assumptions about it but whatever.” She shakes her head, face scrunching up with disgust. “It’s who I am, y’know? I like standing out. I’m confident. I know who I am and I know that person doesn’t take shit from anyone – not from strangers, not from friends, and not from the world.”

“I wish I was like that,” Paige mutters.

“Everyone can be like that.” Laura leans back in her chair, fingers tapping on the table. “You just gotta believe it. You’re good enough. You can come first. You are the most important person to you.”

“I think it’s a little harder than that.”

Laura shrugs. “It shouldn’t be. You can do it – I know you can. I can see it in you.” She leans forward again, placing her elbows on the table and clasping her hands together. She rests her chin on her hands, never once looking away from Paige. “And I’d like to see more of it. Maybe on actual date next time? Y’know, if it’s not weird that I’m Derek’s sister.”

Paige blinks at her. She knows exactly what she should say, what her parents would want her to say. But like everything else today, she decides not listen to them. “I’d love that.”

“Then it’s a date,” Laura says, grinning.

Paige returns it. “And I look forward to it.”


End file.
